Gwein a Bain
Nin uimelithog
Mas ni ú'wein a mas ni úvain?
Nin uimelithog
Mas chebion únad ach i fea nîn 'iriel?
Estelion, Estelion,
Estelion i—velithog
Nin uimelithog mas ni úvain egor ni údhail?
Nin uimelithog mas ni úvain egor ni údhail?
Nin uimelithog mas ni ú'wein adh úvain?
Literal Translation:
Young and Beautiful
Will you still love me
When I'm not young and when I'm not beautiful?
Will you still love me
When I got nothing but my aching soul?
I know, I know
I know that you will love
Will you still love me when I'm not beautiful or not fair?
Will you still love me when I'm not beautiful or not fair?
Will you still love me when I'm not young and beautiful?
Even more literal translation:
Young and Beautiful
Me ever-love-will-you
At-when I (am) not-young and when I (am) not-beautiful?
Me ever-love-will-you
N'i chebion únad ach i fea nîn 'iriel?
When keep-I not-thing but the soul mine shuddering?
I trust/believe/hope/know, I trust/believe/hope/know
I trust/believe/hope/know that love-will-you
Me ever-love-will-you when I (am) not-beautiful or I (am) not-fair?
Me ever-love-will-you when I (am) not-beautiful or (am) not-fair?
Me ever-love-will-you at-when I (am) not-young and not-beautiful?
No one is this effing literal translation:
Gwein (adj.; singular) "young"
A (conj.) "and"
Bain (adj.; singular) "beautiful)
Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"
Ui-(prefix) "ever"
Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will ove"
®Mas (®pron.; relative) A possible reconstruction for the word "when" is ®ias/iase/jas/jase (®pron.; interrogative) or ®mas/mase (®pron.; relative) "in when, in which" all in Common Eldarin. This set was reconstructed by Ryszard Derdzinski. Yet another possibility is ®ir, used once untranslated in an obscure poem fragment but may be related to Quenya irë (conj.) "when", which is not a relative pronoun…but it may also be a mutated plural form of i (art. definite, singular) "the" or a mutated form of i (pron.; relative) "that, who, whom, which". Finally, ®N'i (contraction) of Na (prep.) "at" +i—(pron.; relative, singular) "that, who, whom, which" and translates roughly "at which" was reconstructed by dreamingfifi of Real Elvish dot net.
"Nin uivelithog ®mas ni ú'wein adh ni úvain"
"Nin uivelithog ®ir ni ú'wein adh ni úvain"
"Nin uivelithog ®n'i ni ú'wein adh ni úvain"
Will you still love me when I (am) not young and I (am) not beautiful
All of these are common reconstructed Sindarin uses and equally understandable (if not acceptable or preferable) to most Sindarin reconstructionists. I personally find the final Na i ni or N'i ni to be an awkward phrase. Ir ni or Mas ni are much more aesthetically pleasing.
Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"
[Na- (v.; unconjugated stem) "to be". This verb is not vocalized in any tenses in Sindarin save imperative *no (v.; imperative) "be!" The reader/hearer is left to context to determine of the writer/speaker intends a phrase to be present, past, or future tense.]
Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"
Gwein (adj.; singular) mutates to *'wein following a noun "young"
A (conj.) "and"
®Mas (®pron.; relative)
Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"
Bain (adj.; singular) mutates to *vain following a noun "beautiful"
Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"
Ui-(prefix) "ever"
Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will ove"
®Mas (®pron.; relative)
Heb- (v.; unconjugated stem) changes to *hebion (v.; first person singular present tense) and mutates to *chebion "I have, I keep"
Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"
Nad (n.; singular) "thing"
Ach (conj.) "but, yet"
i (art.; definite, singular) "the"
fea (n.; singular) "soul"
nîn (pron.; first person singular possessive) "my, mine"
Gir- (v.; unconjugated stem) changes to *giriel (v.; present active participle) and mutates to *'iriel "shuddering"
®Esteli- (v.; unconjugated stem.) created by David Salo from the estel (n.; singular) changes to *estelion (v.; first person singular present tense) "I hope, I trust, I have a temper of mind, steady fixed in purpose, and difficult to dissuade and unlikely to fall into despair or abandon its purpose"
[It's also derived from Estel, her and his mother's name for him. Face it, book Arwen spent 50+ years weaving a tapestry worthy of the heir of Númeanor in the hopes that one day they would be wed, then has harsh words with Elrond in Rohan of which Tolkien only tells us "None saw her last meeting with Elrond her father, for they went up into the hills and there spoke long together, and bitter was their parting that should endure beyond the ends of the world." Fuck Movie!Arwen who leaves him behind because daddy told her to. I love Liv Tyler, and the blame falls on Peter, Phillipa and Fran for making her character so weak and one-sided.]
i— (pron.; relative, singular) "that, who, whom, which"
Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) and mutates to *velithog as it is the subject of a relative clause "You will love"
Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"
Ui-(prefix) "ever"
Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will ove"
®Mas (®pron.; relative)
Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"
Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"
Bain (adj.; singular) mutates to *vain following a noun or a prefix "beautiful"
Egor (conj.) "or"
Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"
Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"
Dail (adj.; singular) mutates to *dhail as it follows a noun "lovely, fair"
Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"
Ui-(prefix) "ever"
Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will ove"
®Mas (®pron.; relative)
Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"
Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"
Bain (adj.; singular) mutates to *vain following a noun or a prefix "beautiful"
Egor (conj.) "or"
Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"
Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"
Dail (adj.; singular) mutates to *dhail as it follows a noun "lovely, fair"
Nin (pron.; first person singular objective) "me"
Ui-(prefix) "ever"
Mel- (v.; unconjugated stem) becomes *melithog (v.; future second person familiar singular) [and possibly mutates to *velithog after suffix ui-, but only known attested examples [ui+davnen=uidavnen] do not exhibit this change.] "You will love"
Ni (pron.; first person singular subjective) "I"
Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"
Gwein (adj.; singular) mutates to *'wein following a noun or a prefix "young"
A (conj.) mutates to *adh before a vowel "and"
®Mas (®pron.; relative)
Û (adj./adv.) negation, changes to *ú- or *u as a prefix "no, not, is not, opposite, negation"
Bain (adj.; singular) mutates to *vain following a noun or a prefix "beautiful"